There are only so many tomorrows

The strange thing is that we all know life is short.

We say it constantly.

We hear it constantly.

We nod our heads in agreement.

Then we live as though it applies to everyone except us.

You keep thinking you have plenty of time.

Then one day you see a photograph of yourself from ten years ago.

And it hits you.

Ten years.

Gone.

The future you were waiting for arrived years ago.

The person you were going to become never appeared automatically.

The things you were going to do remained undone.

Life disappears into ordinary days. It disappears into apathy.

One postponed decision at a time.

One more “I’ll do it tomorrow”.

The saddest regrets are usually not about what we did.

They are about what we never did.

The risks never taken.

The places never visited.

The words never spoken.

The ideas never pursued.

The life that remained trapped inside our imagination.

Most people are not held back by a lack of ability.

They are held back by the illusion of unlimited time and the lack of courage to act.

They think there will always be another opportunity to begin.

The future is an unreliable promise.

Say what you feel.

Do the things you’ve been saying you’ll do.

Only, do them now. Not tomorrow.

Not because success is guaranteed.

Because time is not.

One day you will wake up and discover that a large part of your life has already happened.

When that day comes, you will not be wishing for more possessions.

Or more distractions.

You will wish for more time.

More courage to do what you said you’d do.

More chances.

More tomorrows.

Which is exactly why today matters so much.

Because today’s opportunities eventually become yesterday’s regrets.

And there are only so many tomorrows.

At the end of your life, you’ll meet the version of yourself that took every risk and honored every gift. Your only job is to ensure that person is you. Don’t arrive at the end as a stranger to your own potential.

Whatever it is you want to do, do it now.